Tokyo to fly with Lockheed jet

Defence contractor Lockheed Martin has secured a deal with Japan to supply F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, the first time the aircraft has won in a competitive tender.

The US contractor will build 42 of the planes for Japan, Defence Minister Yasuo Ichikawa said yesterday. The F-35 was shortlisted against Boeing’s F-18 Super Hornet and Eurofighter’s Typhoon.

The deal comes amid uncertainty about stability on the Korean Peninsula after the death of North Korean dictator
Kim Jong-il
. Japan has the world’s sixth-largest defence budget and has been upgrading its air defences as North Korea improves its ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons program, and as Russia and China develop stealth fighters.

“From now on, we really have to think about distances and air force strength in north-east Asia," said Hideshi Takesada, professor of international relations at Seoul’s Yonsei University. “This decision reflects the need for stealth and long-distance combat capabilities."

The timing of the announcement was not related to Mr Kim’s death, Mr Takesada said.

Japan’s F-35s will replace Boeing F-4s. The decision bolsters the F-35 as delays and government austerity measures imperil orders in Australia, the UK, and other countries that helped develop the jet. The US is the plane’s largest customer with more than 2440 orders in a $US382 billion plan that is the Pentagon’s biggest weapons program.

“It is a big boost for the program politically," said James Hardy, a London-based analyst at IHS Jane’s DS Forecast. “Many partner nations have committed to buying the F-35, but to have it win an external competition will certainly help take the pressure off."

Lockheed has about 700 F-35 orders from the program’s eight overseas partner nations which also include Italy, Holland, Turkey, Norway, Denmark and Canada. Israel and Singapore have a lower-level involvement.

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The jet, which can be used for spying and combat, costs about $US133 million each in today’s dollars, according to the US Government Accountability Office – about double the price of the F-18 Super Hornet and the Typhoon.

The F-35 likely won the Japan contest because of its stealth technology and the nation’s traditional reliance on US military hardware, said Mr Hardy. Japan also considered the amount of production work that could be undertaken locally as it seeks to develop its defence industry. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Fuji Heavy Industries, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries have all previously worked with Lockheed to assemble fighters, according to Lockheed’s website.